Apparatus for preparing a coated foodstuff

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for coating a foodstuff with particulate coating material includes conveyors and means for applying the particulate material. A first conveyor has a horizontal upper run and a second conveyor has an upper run which includes an inclined portion positioned beneath the first conveyor which extends upwards towards the leading edge of the first conveyor and terminates in a horizontal upper run portion which extends to the leading edge of the second conveyor. Means are provided for applying particulate material onto another portion of the second conveyor prior to the inclined portion. The first conveyor transports pieces of a foodstuff to be coated to its leading edge whereat the foodstuff is deposited upon particulate material transported on the second conveyor, the pieces of foodstuff and particulate material then being further transported on the horizontal portion of the second conveyor to a position whereat means are provided for applying particulate material onto the foodstuff. The coated foodstuff is then further transported towards a third conveyor which is positioned such that its trailing edge is positioned a distance sufficient from the leading edge of the second conveyor for forming a space for allowing particulate material to fall through the space between the two conveyors and for receiving the coated foodstuff and transporting it from the second conveyor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 06/925,281,filed Oct. 30, 1986 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,423.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novel coated foodstuff and moreparticularly to a foodstuff coated with a particulate material derivedfrom fresh root vegetables.

In the preparation of frozen coated food products such as fish, meat orvegetables suitable for oven-cooking, the foodstuff is usually coatedwith batter, breaded, prefried, deep-frozen and then packaged. Thebreading material is normally a particulate material such as breadcrumbs or shredded cheese, or it may be a particulate material derivedfrom dehydrated potato, for example, potato flakes, potato powder orpotato granules. The average size of the particles is such that theyusually have an average diameter of from 0.1 to 2.0 mm and the maximumvolume of a particle is not usually more than about 10 cubicmillimeters. The amount of breading material used in conventionalprocedures is normally not more than 10% by weight based on the totalweight of the product.

It would, however, be very desirable to use particulate material derivedfrom fresh root vegetables, such as potatoes, not only from anorganoleptic point of view but also because the final product would havea significantly lower fat content to products coated with conventionalcoating materials due to the lower uptake of oil by the fresh vegetablein the pre-frying process. However, all our attempts up to the presenttime to use such coating materials have not been successful because inconventional equipment the particles of fresh vegetable material tend tostick together to form agglomerates which complicate the mechanicaltransport and make it impossible to obtain a satisfactory even coating.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We have now developed a foodstuff coated with a particulate materialderived from fresh root vegetables in which the particles do not sticktogether to form agglomerates and which are distributed evenly upon thefoodstuff.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a frozen food productcomprising a foodstuff coated with batter and a particulate material,which is prefried before being deepfrozen characterised in that theparticulate material is derived from fresh root vegetables.

The foodstuff may be any foodstuff which may conventionally be coatedwith particulate material, for example, vegetables, meat or fish. Thefoodstuff is usually predusted and coated with the batter byconventional methods before the particulate material is applied. Anytype of batter may be used and Tempura batter is particularly suitable.

Preferably the individual particles of the fresh root vegetables have avolume greater than 20 cubic millimeters, for example, from 30 to 250,preferably from 40 to 200 and especially from 50 to 150 cubicmillimeters. Root vegetables which are of particular interest are thosewhich may be cut into relatively firm, substantially uniform pieces, forexample, potatoes, carrots, turnips or swedes. Especially suitablematerials are potato cubes or potato strips.

Advantageously, the amount of particulate material applied to thefoodstuff is between 10 and 70%, more preferably from 15 to 50% andespecially from 20 to 40% by weight based on the total weight of theprefried frozen food product. It should be understood that water is lostfrom the fresh vegetable material during the pre-frying step andtherefore the final product will contain less vegetable material byweigh than the amount applied.

Preferably, the particles of fresh root vegetables are coated with apredusting flour before application to the foodstuff. The amount ofpredusting flour depends on the size of the particulate material and thequantity applied to the foodstuff and is usually from 4 to 12%,preferably from 5 to 10% and especially from 6 to 8% by weight based onthe weight of the particulate material. Any conventional predustingmaterial may be used and may be any free flowing flour or starchmaterial, for example, granulated potato or potato starch. The coatingof the particulate material with a predusting flour is especiallyadvantageous when the individual particles have a volume greater than 20cubic millimeters.

The product has a significantly lower fat content when compared withpre-fried frozen products coated with conventional "breading" materialsand reheats extremely well either by frying or by oven-heating.

The present invention further provides a process for preparing a frozenfood product which comprises coating a foodstuff firstly with batter andthen with a particulate material, and afterwards prefrying anddeep-freezing, characterised in that the particulate material is derivedfrom fresh root vegetables.

The foodstuffs and the particulate materials are as describedhereinbefore and preferably the particulate material is coated with apredusting flour before application to the foodstuff in the amountsindicated above, for instance, by means of an ordinary dry mixer orrotating drum.

The present invention also provides an apparatus for coating a foodstuffwith a particulate material derived from fresh root vegetablescharacterised in that it comprises a horizontal conveyor for afoodstuff, means for applying the foodstuff to the horizontal conveyor,a first means for applying a particulate material onto the foodstuff, asecond means for applying particulate material onto at least part of thehorizontal conveyor before the foodstuff has reached that part of thehorizontal conveyor and means for transporting excess particulatematerial which falls off the horizontal conveyor upwardly on an inclinedconveyor for redistribution to the first and second applying means forreuse.

Preferably, the horizontal conveyor for the foodstuff comprises at leasttwo endless conveyor belts having horizontal upper runs arrangedsuccessively whereby the upper run of the second belt has a portionpositioned below the first belt and which travels upwards and forwardsto form a horizontal portion level with the horizontal upper run of theother endless conveyor belt.

The first means for applying the particulate material onto the foodstuffmay, if desired, be provided by a hopper positioned above the first beltof the horizontal conveyor for the foodstuff and distribute theparticulate material onto the foodstuff, preferably through a vibrator.In this case, the second means for applying particulate material ontothe horizontal conveyor before a foodstuff has reached that part of theconveyor may conveniently be achieved by the excess particulate materialfalling off the forward end of the first belt onto the portion of theupper run of the second belt positioned below the first belt, so that ittravels upwards and forwards onto the horizontal portion of the secondbelt. However, it is preferred that the first means for applying theparticulate material onto the foodstuff is provided by a horizontalconveyor positioned above the horizontal upper run of the second belt ofthe horizontal conveyor for the foodstuff in which position thefoodstuff is already lying on particulate material applied by the secondmeans. In this case, the second means for applying particulate materialonto the horizontal conveyor before a foodstuff has reached that part ofthe conveyor may conveniently be achieved by means of another horizontalconveyor positioned between the first belt and the portion of the secondbelt positioned below the first belt of the horizontal conveyor for thefoodstuff, the particulate material being fed from the leading edge ontothe portion of the second belt below the first belt from where it istransported forwards and upwards to the horizontal upper run of thesecond belt.

Although the excess particulate material which falls off the second beltmay fall directly onto the inclined conveyor for redistribution,conveniently a further horizontal conveyor belt is positioned below thehorizontal portion of the second belt of the conveyor for the foodstuff,for collecting excess particulate material which falls off this secondbelt and transporting it to the inclined conveyor from where it isdistributed to the first and second applying means for reuse.

The present invention also provides a method for coating a foodstuffwith a particulate material derived from fresh root vegetablescharacterised in that foodstuff is fed onto a horizontal conveyor,particulate material derived from fresh root vegetables is coated with apredusting flour and fed onto the foodstuff, further coated particulatematerial is fed onto at least part of the horizontal conveyor for thefoodstuff before the foodstuff has reached that part of the horizontalconveyor, and excess particulate material falls off the horizontalconveyor and is transported upwards on an inclined conveyor to beredistributed and reused.

The presence of the predusting flour coated on the surface of theparticulate material derived from fresh root vegetables helps to avoidthe formation of agglomerates of the particles so that the transport issmooth and a satisfactory even coating is obtained The amounts ofpredusting flour are those indicated above. If the amount of predustingflour is too low or too high, the mechanical circulation of theparticulate material in the system will not work satisfactorily. If theamount is too low agglomerates of the particles are formed whichcomplicates the mechanical transport, while if the amount is too highthere will be excess "free" predust in the system which will stick toparts of the transport system such as the conveyor belt or rollers andwill form layers which will be of certain bacteriological risk.

It is important that the temperature of the particulate material doesnot rise appreciably above freezing point during its circulation and ithas been found that by tempering the particulate material to atemperature from -1° C. to -3° C., its temperature does not normallyrise above about +1° C. during the average holding time in the system ofabout 30 minutes.

The present invention will now be further illustrated by way of examplewith reference to the following drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional side view of the apparatus and

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic top plan view of the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus generally designated 10,comprises a horizontal conveyor for transporting a foodstuff consistingof solid belts 11, 12 and 13 travelling in the direction of the arrowsThe upper run of solid belt 12 has a lower horizontal portion 14, aninclined portion 15 and an upper horizontal portion 16. Positionedbetween the solid belt 11 and lower horizontal portion 14 is a U-shapedendless conveyor belt 17, the upper run of which travels in thedirection of the arrows. Positioned above the horizontal portion 16 is afurther U-shaped endless conveyor belt 18 the upper run of which travelsin the direction of the arrows, and a pressure roller 19. At the leadingedge of the horizontal portion 16 is a chute 20 which leads to one endof a conveyor belt 21 at the other end of which is the lower end of aninclined oscillating conveyor belt 22 fitted with transverse ridges (notshown). At the top of conveyor belt 22 are a pair of chutes (not shown)one of each respectively leading to the rear edge of one of the U-shapedbelts 17 and 18.

In operation, battered frozen fish portions 23, which had initially beendeglazed with steam and predusted with grilled cracker meal 454 eachweighing 50 g are fed from a freezer (not shown) onto solid belt 11.Fresh potato strips 24 having dimensions of 3 mm×3 mm×7 mm are coatedwith 7% by weight of granulated potato based on the weight of potatostrips, tempered to -2° C. and are fed continuously from a means (notshown) on to the U-shaped belt 17 to flow in the direction of the arrowsuntil they fall off the leading edge onto the lower horizontal portion14 to form a layer which is transported upwards along the inclinedportion 15 to the upper horizontal portion 16 of belt 12. The batteredfrozen fish portions 23 are transferred from the upper run of belt 11 onto the upper horizontal portion 16 of belt 12 where they lie on thelayer of potato strips. Further coated fresh potato strips 24 of thesame dimensions are fed continuously from a means (not shown) on to theU-shaped belt 18 to flow in the direction of the arrow until they falloff the leading edge onto the fish portions on the upper horizontalportion 16 of belt 12. The fish portions coated with 35% by weight ofpotato strips based on the total weight are then transported under apressure roller 19 and on to conveyor belt 13 which transports them tothe fryer. Excess potato strips 24 fall off the leading edge of belt 12onto the chute 20 where they are carried to conveyor belt 21 whichtransports them to the inclined conveyor belt 22. Here the fresh potatostrips are transported upwards, the transverse ridges preventing thepotato pieces sliding backwards, where they are distributed to twochutes one leading to the rear edge of U-belt 17 and the other leadingto the rear edge of U-belt 18 on which they are transported for reuse.After frying, the completely coated fish portions are deep-frozen.

The final pre-fried product had the following composition:

Fish - 50%

Steam (as water) - 1%

Milled cracker meal 454 - 4%

Batter - 10%

Potato - 23%

Granulated potato - 2%

Oil - 10%

In this invention, the application to a foodstuff of a particulatecoating material derived from fresh root vegetables in larger amountsand comprising particles of a larger size in comparison withconventional coated food products results in an entirely new productconcept, with especially desirable organoleptic properties and a lowerfat content, the production of which has hitherto not been possible. Theproducts also have an interesting, attractive appearance quite differentfrom conventionally coated products.

I claim:
 1. An apparatus for coating a foodstuff with particulatematerial comprising:a first conveyor having a horizontal upper runextending to a leading edge for transporting pieces of a foodstuff; asecond conveyor having an upper run including an inclined portion and ahorizontal portion, the inclined portion being positioned beneath thefirst conveyor and extending upwards towards the leading edge of thefirst conveyor and terminating in the horizontal portion which extendsto a second conveyor leading edge, the second conveyor being adapted fortransporting particulate coating material and being positioned forreceiving the pieces of the foodstuff from the leading edge of the firstconveyor which are deposited upon the particulate material on the secondconveyor for coating and transport with the particulate material; meansfor applying particulate material onto another portion of the secondconveyor prior to the inclined portion; means for applying particulatematerial onto the pieces of the foodstuff transported on the horizontalportion of the second conveyor; a third conveyor positioned at thesecond conveyor leading edge having a trailing edge positioned adistance sufficient from the second conveyor leading edge for forming aspace for allowing particulate material to fall from the second conveyorleading edge through the space and for receiving coated foodstuff fromthe second conveyor leading edge for transporting coated foodstuff awayfrom the second conveyor; and means including an upwardly inclinedfourth conveyor for receiving and transporting particulate materialfalling through the space for distribution to each means for applyingparticulate material.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 furthercomprising a roller positioned over the horizontal portion of the secondconveyor between the means for applying particulate material and thesecond conveyor leading edge for pressure rolling the coated foodstuff.3. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means for receiving andtransporting particulate material includes the fourth conveyor and achute associated with the space between the second and third conveyorsfor receiving the falling particulate material from the space and afifth conveyor for transporting the received particulate material to thefourth conveyor.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the meansfor applying particulate material to the second conveyor is a U-shapedendless belt having a leading edge positioned over the second conveyorprior to the inclined portion of the second conveyor, the means forapplying particulate material to the foodstuff on the horizontal portionof the second conveyor is a U-shaped endless belt and wherein chutesconnect the fourth conveyor with the U-shaped belts for distribution ofthe particulate material to the belts.
 5. An apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein the means for applying particulate material to thesecond conveyor includes a sixth conveyor having a leading edgepositioned over the second conveyor prior to the inclined portion of thesecond conveyor.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the sixthconveyor and the means for applying particulate material to thefoodstuff on the horizontal portion of the second conveyor are U-shapedendless belts.
 7. An apparatus according to claim 6 wherein chutesconnect the fourth conveyor with the U-shaped belts for distribution ofthe particulate material to the belts.